Unloading mechanism for freight cars



Apr' 24, 1923.

Ill IJ.

c. H. MONTGOMERY U'NLOADING lMECHANISM FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed May 2o, 1922 Apr. 24,1923.

1,452,649 c. H. MONTGOMERY f' UNLOADING MECHANISM P OR FREIGHT CARS V File@ May 2o, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

UNlrED s 'rArEs CHARLES H. MONTGOMERY, OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA.

UNLOADING MECHANISM FOR FREIGHT CARS.

Application led May 20, 1922. Serial No. 562,329.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. MONT- GOMERY, residing at Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Unloading Mechanism for Freight Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for facilitating the unloading of freight cars, such as coal cars,'directly into wagons at the side o-r under a trestle on which the cars are run for the purpose of unloading. Heretofore, it has been the custom to build bins with pockets under the trestle, with conveying chutes therefrom. y n

My invention comprehendsV unloading mechanism'in connection with a platform on top of the trestle', dispensing with a pocket, and contemplates stopping and starting the iow of material by manipulation of a chute, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of my specification and illustrating the preferred embodiment of my invention:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary View, in perspective, of a railway trestle equipped with my improvements, and showing the latter in operative position for discharging material, such as coal, or the like;l

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view, inside elevation, of the trestle, showing the unloading chute in inoperative or raised position, the chute-extension (seen in Fig. 1) not being shown in this view;

Figure 3 is a sectional viewl on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, but showing the side guardbars of the platform trough in lowered position, instead of in raised position, as in Fig. 1;

igure 4 is a view in side elevation of the trestle with a car thereon, and showing, in connection with the unloading mechanism of the other views, auxiliary mechanism for controlling the flow of material through the pocket-gate of the car; and I Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5, Fig. 4.

Referring, now, in detail to the drawings: 1 designates, in general, a railway trestle upon which railway freight-cars are run for the purpose of unloading, and having, on each-side, a platform 10 (only one being shown in the drawings). 2, 2 designate the railway-rails on the trestle.

4tion by suitable means.

Vends with eyes 9 carried by the bars 4.

On each side of the trestle is a platform in two sections 10, 10 spaced apart at adjacent ends to provide an opening to accommodate a discharge-chute 11 tiltably secured in anyfdesired manner, as by means of hinges 12, which'are, in this instance, secured to the4 vertical web of the adjacent railway rail 2, the discharge-chute being provided with side flanges 13, 13, which preferably convergefrom the hinged end of the chute to the outer end thereof.

' On the adjacent ends of the platformsections 10, 10 are supported bracket-members, comprising, in this instance,convergent uprights 14, 14, having angled basal terminals 15, 15 secured to the platform-sections l0, 10 at adjacent ends thereof. The convergent bracket-members 14, 14 thus form an arch over the opening between the adjacent ends of the platform sections 10, 10. The abutting upperportions 16, 16 ofthe uprights 14, 14 are suitably secured together,

as by welding, and one of said uprights is provided, at its top, with a horizontallyextending arm 17, from which is suspended a pulley 18, overwhich passes a rope 19 eX- tending around a second pulley 42() supported from the exit end of the chute 11, one end of the rope being secured to the pulley 18, as shown at 21, and the other end kto a windlass 22.

Braces 23, 23 may be provided, one end thereof being secured to the bracket-members 14, 14, and the other ends thereof to the platform-sections 10, 10.

The side flanges 13, 13 of the chute 11- terminate short of the rear end of the chute (as most clearly shown in Fig. 5), and to the rear ends of said flanges flexible chainmesh` strips 25, 25 are secured, the other ends y' of said strips being adapted to be releasably secured to the` endsof the bars 4, 4 of the platform-trough 3, in any suitable manner.

AFor the purpose of supporting the chainmesh strips 25, 25 in operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, hooks 26, 26 carried by the platform 10 may be provided, the pointed hook ends of such hooks passing through the chain-mesh strips, adjacent the top edge thereof. The strips 25, 25 may be released from engagement with the ends of the bars 4, 4, for the purpose off permitting the freight-car wheels to roll along thel tracks 2` 2.

The chute 11 is preferably provided with an adjustable extension, comprising complemental sections 27, 27, overlapping at adjacent longitudinal edges, and which are pivotally secured to the chute 11. as at 27 (Fig. 5). The extension-sections 27, 27 carry longitudinal, marginal flanges 28, 28. kSaid sections are adjustable toward and away from each other, on the pivot 27 the overlapping portions of said sections being provided with registering slots 29, through which projects a set-screw to clamp said sections in adjusted position.

It is to be understood that, while the drawing shows the chute 11 and its controlling mechanism as disposed on one side of the trestle 1, this chute and its controlling mechanism are duplicated on the other side of the trestle, so that one of such chutes is at each end of the platform-trough 3.

The operation of the 'mechanism thus far described is as follows: A freight-car carrying, for instance,xcoal, and being of the ordinary bottom-dumping type characterized by ythe provision of bottom gates 34, is run onto the trestle 1, with one of the dumping-pockets 32 of the car over the platform-trough 3 and the rear portion ofthe chutes 11. The side bars 4, 4 of the platform-trough are then raised to vertical shown, .as shown in Fig. 1, from the horizontal position shown in Fig. 3. The chain-mesh strips 25, 25 are then attached to theside bars 4, 4, the tops ot' said mesh being supported by the upright hook-members 26, 26. The bottom gate 34 of the freight-car 33 is then opened, allowing the coal to escape. The chute 11 is then lowered from the upward-inclined position thereof shown i'n Fig. 2 to the downwardinclined position thereof shown in Fig. 1, whereupon the coal descends, by gravity, along said chute. When the Wagon is filled, the chute 11 is moved into the position shown in Fig. 2, to prevent further escape of coal by means of said chute; the windlass 22, through the rope 19, controlling the movement of the chute. The flexible connections or chain-mesh 25, 25 between the ends of the side bars 13, 13 of .the chute 11 and the ends ofthe bars 4, 4 of the platform-trough 3 pretv 'en-t .sdewse escape of the coal; fand, when the coal-car is emptied, the flexible connections 25, 25 are released from attachment with the ends of the bars 4, 4 and withdrawn from their position over the rail 2, so as to permit movement of the car-wheels along the rails 2, 2 without interference with said connections 25, 25.

It will be noted that the unloading-chutes 11, 11 on both sides of the trestle may be used simultaneously to load two wagons simultaneously, or one, only, of said chutes may be used at one time, to load one wagon, the chute on the other vside being raised to choke the iliow of coal on that side` Referring, now, to Figs. 4 and 5: 30 and 31 designate two plates. which are used to govern the flow of coal, or the like, from the pockets 32 of the freight-car 33, each of said pockets being provided with the ordinary swinging gate 34. Said plates 30, 31 are adapted to bear against the ends oit the pocket 32 and gate 34, when the latter is open, as shown, and, for this purpose, the plate 30 is connected at 35 with a rod 36 provided, toward its free extremity, with athreaded portion 37 passing loosely through a block 38, having trunnions 39, 39 with bearings in the upper ends of supporting brackets 40, 40 secured to the platfrom 10. A wing-nut 41 is screwed on the threaded end 0f said rod 36 and bears against the lblock 38 onl one side thereof, and a clamping nut 42 also threaded on said rod 36 bears against the other side of said block, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, whereby the pla-te 30 is ,n

held in position against the side of the pocket 32 and the pocket-gate 34.

rIhe plate 31 is adjustable with reference to the plate 30, anch/'for this purpose, is provided with transversely extending slots 43. 43, passing through which are threaded studs 44, 44 carrying wing-nuts 45, 45 for clamping the plate 30 in any position of raised or lowered adjustment thereof. By means of the plates 30 and 31, free passage of the material from the car to the chute 11 maybe `throttled or choked to a certain eX- tent.

Having thus `fully described 'my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. rPhe combination with a ilreight-car trestle having` openings at the sides thereof and carrying two parallel railroad rails, of discharge-chutes tiltablv disposed in said openings. a platform-troug disposed transversely on said trestle between said railroad rails and having its ends disposed adjacent the inner ends of said chutes, and flexible guard strips secured to the adjacent ends of said platform-trough and chutes.

2. The combination with a freight-car trestle, of. discharge-chiites tiltably secured at the sides thereof, and mechanism carried by said trestle and adapted to bear against the ends of a freight-ear pocket and the gate therefor, to partly close escape 'of coal at the ends of said pocket.

3. The combination with a `freight-car trestle, of discharge-chutes tiltably secured at the sides thereof, and closure-plates adapted to be supported against the ends of a freight-car pocket and the gate therefor, to partly close escape of coal at the ends of said pocket.

44f. The combination With a 'freight-car trestle, of discharge-chutes tiltably secured at the sides thereof, closure-plates adapted to bear against the ends of a freight-car pocket and the gate therefor, t0 partly close escape o coal at the ends of said pocket,

escape of coal at the ends of said pocket,-

means for adjusting one of said plates relative to the other, and means carried by said trestle for supporting said closure-plates.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aIiX my signature.

CHARLES H. MONTGOMERY. 

